June 2009

Tennis takes over towards the end of June as the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championship gets underway. Summer is officially here so it's time to seek out the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy and sit out in the park - if you're passing Regent's Park you can also get a Taste of London at the annual posh nosh food fair.

Story of London Festival

Museum of London, EC2Y 5HN and other venues across London
1st - 30th June 2009

This major festival organised by the Mayor's office takes us on a tour of London's rich heritage from the city's architecture and art to its theatres, music, food, film and fashion. Taking place at many venues across London, the city is celebrated through exhibitions, blogs, podcasts and performances. Fans of the city's architecture can explore everything from the Roman amphitheatre at the Museum of London to modern glass and metal constructions at a special heritage Open Day. The National Archives at Kew are here to help Londoners trace their family history and the heritage of the West End theatres is explored. A wonderful all-encompassing celebration of the city.

www.london.gov.uk/storyoflondon

More info: Story of London Festival Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Britney Spears

The O2, London, SE10 0PE
3rd June 2009 - 13th June 2009

If Britney Spears didn't exist, it would be necessary for someone to invent her. There's nobody working today who's released such consistently insane, repellent, brilliant pop songs for as long as her. She can't sing and she's never written a note, but the people who create, choreograph and produce her music could never have done it without the girl-next-door turned madwoman who will be standing at the front of the stage of the O2 this June. This is the 'Circus' tour, named both for her latest album, and for the idea that Britney's life has become a kind of Victorian freakshow, where her fans gaze in awe at the monster she's become - an impression that will be helped by the presence of strippers and part-time musicians The Pussycat Dolls on the stage behind her.

More info: Britney Spears Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Richard Long: Heaven and Earth

Tate Britain, SW1P 4RG
3rd June 2009 - 6th September 2009

British landscape artist Richard Long, shortlisted for the Turner Prize four times, finally winning it in 1989, is the subject of a solo exhibition at Tate Britain. It was after winning the Turner Prize with 'White Water Line' that the Tate commissioned Long to create three site-specific pieces for its Duveen Gallery. Walking in the landscape, creating sculptures out of nature is a fixation for the artist who first started this kind of work in 1967 when he walked through a grass field, creating a straight line through the downtrodden greenery. Since then his work has taken him from the Alps to the Andes. This is a chance to see the landscape sculptures he's created along the way.

Image: Richard Long - Small White Pebble Circles 1987
© Richard Long

More info: Richard Long: Heaven and Earth Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

The Epsom Derby

Epsom Down Race Course, London, KT18 5LQ
5th & 6th June 2009

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will be an interested spectator at this calendar racing event. The Derby is one of the oldest and greatest horse races in the world, established by the Earl of Derby in 1779. Today this race for three-year-olds attracts prize money of over a million pounds and crowds approaching 100,000. The rolling hills of the Epsom Downs make this course a unique challenge for horses and jockeys alike. It is also one of the most glamorous events in the international racing calendar. The Queen arrives by carriage, followed by thousands of spectators in their best togs. Racing gets underway at 2pm sharp. The Derby itself takes place on the Saturday, while Friday features a race called The Oaks, and, more importantly, Ladies Day, which is as much a fashion show as a horse race.

More info: The Epsom Derby Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Royal Academy Summer Exhibition

Royal Academy, W1J 0BD
8th June 2009 - 16th August 2009

Anyone can submit to the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition which gives it a wonderful element of surprise. Around 12,000 pieces are sifted through from relative unknowns to famous artists and members of the RA. The theme for this year is 'Making Space', which means you can expect a vast array of pieces hung in close proximity so they appear to jostle for coveted space on the prestigious gallery's walls. The fun part for visitors is choosing a favourite and, with the majority of works on sale at varying price ranges, you can even buy one if you really fall in love with it. First held in 1768, the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition is the largest regular contemporary art exhibition in the world. It's an impressive show that gives an excellent cross-section of contemporary art each year.

More info: Royal Academy Summer Exhibition Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Meltdown Festival

South Bank Centre, London, SE1 8XX
13th - 21st June 2009

Jazz legend Ornette Coleman steps into Massive Attack's shoes as the artistic director of this year's Meltdown festival. Meltdown has become the musical highlight of the Southbank's rammed summer catalogue. Each year it's curated by one of pop music's great innovators, and produces a wildly eclectic line-up of acts. Coleman follows the formidable choices of David Bowie, John Peel, Morrissey, Jarvis Cocker and Lee 'Scratch' Perry as well as many other top stars who've helped to make Meltdown a must-see event in the festival calendar.

More info: Meltdown Festival Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Futurism

Tate Modern, London, SE1 9TG
12th June 2009 - 20th September 2009

Key artists of the Futurism Italian art movement, which came to prominence before the First World War, are brought together in this exhibition at Tate Modern. It was in 1909 that Italian writer Filippo Tommaso Marinetti launched his manifesto 'Founding and First Manifesto of Futurism' in Le Figaro, giving birth to the movement. Artists including Umberto Boccioni, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque and Jacob Epstein responded by forging a new, modern art with hard lines and abstract edges. Their work was displayed at the group Futurist exhibition at the Galerie Bernheim in Paris in 1912 which then toured to major European cities including London. Though London's Estoric Museum has an excellent collection of their work, this is the first large-scale Futurism show in Britain for thirty years.

Image: Umberto Boccioni - Unique Forms of Continuity in Space 1913

More info: Futurism Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Trooping the Colour

Horse Guards Parade, SW1A 2AX
13th June 2009

To mark the second of the Queen's two birthdays (this is the official one, her actual birthday is on 21st April), Trooping the Colour presents a vibrant display of ceremony and military history. It's a spectacular piece of pageantry but also a timely reminder of the role of the armed forces who are - in theory at least - under the Queen's control. Hundreds of well-disciplined soldiers in full dress uniform march past, and a different Battalion gives the Royal Salute each year, all accompanied by stirring military music from the massed bands. If you want to avoid the crush you can see the Horse Guards practising for the grand parade at two smaller rehearsals in the days leading up to the grand event - namely the Colonel's Review and The Major General's Review.

More info: Trooping the Colour Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Kings of Leon

The O2, London, SE10 0PE
15th, 16th & 30th June 2009

Tennessee inbreds the Kings of Leon are an inspired foursome whose garage rock has catapulted them from rural obscurity to super-stardom mainly thanks to UK audiences. The three Followill brothers and their first cousin wrote their first album, Youth and Young Manhood, about the joys of touring, groupies and heavy drinking when they were still playing in their mum's garage. Since that success, the band has spent three years getting up to the kind of stuff they dreamt of in their mum's garage and releasing two great follow-ups. They claim that while all the stories and jokes on the first album were boyhood dreams, the second album is '90 per cent true'. The recent material is a return to the country and western-influenced sound of the first album. These O2 gigs take place on 15th and 16th as well as 30th June.

More info: Kings of Leon Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Taste of London

Marylebone Green, London, NW1 4NR
18th June 2009 - 21st June 2009

Direct your rumbling stomach to Regent's Park for four days of al fresco gluttony as over forty of London's best restaurants, including a flurry of Michelin stars, show off their culinary handiwork. 'Taste of...' has become a nationwide phenomenon with events taking place in cities across the country. The London event in Regent's Park must be one of the most enjoyable. Work your way through a range of miniature speciality dishes - visitors can sample seven or eight small courses in a meal - hot off the plates from upmarket places like Le Gavroche, Gordon Ramsay's Boxwood Cafe, L'Atelier du Joel Robuchon and Club Gascon. While tasting fashionable fare and shopping for fine wines, spirits and gourmet foods among the 120 stalls, the civilised sounds of live jazz and opera fill the air and aid the digestion. A gourmet grazing picnic extraordinaire, no restaurant lover should miss this tasty event which has already become a firm fixture in the foodie calendar.

More info: Taste of London Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

BP Portrait Award 2009

National Portrait Gallery, WC2H 0HE
18th June 2009 - 20th September 2009

The £25,000 BP Portrait Award is, for many young artists, a ticket to making it in the art world. The competition, open to everyone over the age of 18, closes on 15th February 2009. The 60 exhibited, short-listed entries are proof that portraiture is still an exciting, vital and relevant medium today. Some of the images play on perspective or use photographic techniques, alongside a host of other tricks, but all share one aim: to reveal the inner lives of their subjects. Last year's winner, Craig Wylie, presented a hyper realistic portrait of his girlfriend, Katherine Raw.

More info: BP Portrait Award 2009 Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championship

All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, SW19 5AE
22nd June 2009 - 5th July 2009

Wimbledon is the most watched tennis event in the Grand Slam calendar, with a TV audience of untold millions and over half a million spectators attending the All England Club to catch the action live. Many tennis pros covet the Wimbledon crown above all others and the grass surface makes for fast, breathless duels. You're too late for the advance tickets ballot. It is, however, easy to get in to the grounds if you queue up in the morning. There are only 500 tickets for the main courts available, so you have to turn up seriously early - or queue overnight - to be certain of getting to see the biggest matches, but in the first week the outer courts still have some of the world's greatest players and you can grab tickets for them if you arrive by about 9am.

More info: Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championship Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube

Walking in my mind

The Gilbert Collection

Victoria and Albert Museum, London, SW7 2RL
June 2009

Following the closure of The Gilbert Collection at Somerset House on 27th January 2008, it re-opens in June 2009 at its new permanent home at the Victoria and Albert Museum. In the new galleries, overlooking the V & A garden, you'll find a display celebrating the collection's unique masterpieces with a particular focus on its gold snuffboxes. The Gilbert Collection was bequeathed to the nation by Sir Arthur Gilbert, and consists of an unusual and unique collection of gold and silver decorative arts. European gold and silver snuffboxes, Italian mosaics and portrait miniatures feature heavily. Some pieces will be incorporated into displays elsewhere in the V & A and some of the silver will be returned on loan to the historic houses for which they were originally made.

More info: The Gilbert Collection Map, Prices, Opening Times and Nearest Tube